What if?
by LittleMissWriterx
Summary: Its fifteen years later and Rachel is still running Waterloo Road but she constantly thinks of what would happen if she had made a different choice years ago and when the new deputy arrives she might have a chance to find out the answer. With a school to run how will she cope with an old flame returning and turning her life upside down. It'll be just another day at Waterloo Road.
1. What ifs?

**Recently I have been watching the old Waterloo Road series before the last series of Waterloo Road starts in September. Currently I am up to the start of series 5. After finishing series 4 I had an idea for a story but I wasn't sure but here it is so please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Waterloo Road. but I do own my characters.**

**Also Rachel is 40 in this and Eddie is 43.**

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**WHAT IF? Chapter 1**

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What if? What a pathetic saying. People always think back on their lives and at some point say 'what if', what if this happened or what if that happened? Well I'll say in my life lifetime I have made many choices that leave me thinking what if; some choices I wish I could go back and change but know I never can.

A question that has gone through my head for many, many years. A question that although I may already know the answer to and have known for a long time I still wonder about it. A 'what if' that almost kills me every night and day, every second that goes by that I think about it.

What if he didn't leave me? What if I had asked him stay? What if he was still with me? What if?

I know saying all this makes me sound so pathetic and lonely and it's true. Over fifteen years ago I said goodbye to the man I loved and have loved since. I closed the door on any chance of love but I don't care, not anymore, I know he's happy which makes me happy. The only things I have left of him though now are my beautiful girls Em and Jaz. Without them I don't think I know what would've happened to me._  
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Nowadays I am the head teacher of Waterloo Road School and have been for nearly seventeen years. In those years I have met so many incredible people and have truly been touched by so many lives. I've seen kids grow into adults and I have to say that is an amazing gift, no what ifs or maybes about it.

My daughters, now nearly fifteen, have grown up in the school. Even with all the memories I just couldn't bring myself to leave. I'm scared that if I leave I will forget the place and worse, their father along with it.

So far the girls have been happy not knowing their father, a few years ago the girls did ask and because I didn't have any answers for them I made them up. I guess that makes me a horrible person but I just want to protect them.

I remember everything I told them. I said he was a very important man with an important job. I told them how much he wanted to be their but couldn't. I told them that if they need him he would be there for them and he missed them so much and loved them with all his heart. And they believed me. We even spent hours talking about him and his incredible stories.

I know that even if they have never met him they do love him with all their hearts.

And things were fine until one ordinary random day. The day I had a chance to find out some of the 'what ifs'.

When I talk about the 'what ifs' that float around in my mind I never imagine being able to find out the answers.

It was an ordinary day, normal, well as normal as a day gets at Waterloo Road can get.

I was in my office waiting for my new deputy head to arrive and whoever it was, was late. Not a good start.

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**Well that was chapter 1. Please Review, Follow and Favorite this story. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	2. Welcome back Eddie

**So here is chapter 2 of What if? I have changed it from first person to third person to make more sense of it. Enjoy.**

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**WHAT IF? Chapter 2**

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Rachel Mason sat in her office waiting impatiently for her new, late, deputy head. She hadn't even met them yet and she already didn't like them. She had nearly given up on this deputy she was expecting when a man burst through her office door. She jumped at the shock. She couldn't see his face as he was bent double gasping for air.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked confused.

"Sorry..." the man said between breaths "...I'm late. I had some problem getting here. I'm, the new deputy" he continued but by now Rachel had zoned out; she knew that voice. It was his voice. He gained composure snapping Rachel out of her trance. "I'm Edd..." he couldn't finish when he saw who he was talking to. At first he looked completely dumbstruck but then he smiled.

"Rachel" he said simply "It's good to see you".

"Hello Eddie. Long time no see" she said in her professional voice. "You are late".

"I know. I had problems getting here" he explained.

"Problems?" Rachel questioned, folding her arms.

"kids, bloody nightmares. I tell ya" he said with a slight chuckle " I have them outside". Eddie walked outside and muttered something to the children then walked back in followed by three children, looking not to pleased.

"Kids this is Miss Mason, Head Teacher" Eddie stated followed by muttered Hellos. "Rachel this is Micheal, Rosie and Mandi".

"Welcome to Waterloo Road" she said with a smile.

Micheal looked about eighteen, she hadn't seen him since he was three, he really had grown. Rosie she guessed was fifteen or so and Mandi looked around eleven or twelve.

"Dad do we have to be here?" the eldest of the three asked his father in a hushed tone. He clearly didn't want to be at Waterloo Road.

"Yes now shut it Mike" Eddie warned.

"Well lets get you sorted into classes" Rachel suggested.

Half an hour later all three were in their new classes and Rachel and Eddie were now back in her office. The air between them was completely awkward as they just sat busily in silence.

Eddie couldn't take the agonizing silence anymore "Coffee?" he asked.

"No. Thanks" she answered, staying focused on her stacks of paperwork.

"Rach. Can we talk?" he asked leaning on the cabinet next to the door. She turned to face him and finally got a good look at him, the first proper look at him in fifteen years. He looked almost exactly the same, except his hair has begun to grayen with age and he had darker eyes, older eyes. Just the same as she remembers except different.

"Rach" she loved it when he said her name like that "Rach? Rachel? Hello? Anyone there?" she realized she was staring and averted her gaze.

"What Eddie?" She shouted standing up from her desk, fists on hard wood surface.

"You can't even look at me for more than 10 seconds. Why can't you Rachel?" he asked nearly shouting.

She didn't want to talk about it so she changed the subject. She sat back in seat and asked calmly "How's Mel?"

"I wouldn't know. Haven't seen the woman for the best part eight years" Eddie answered as if didn't care. This answer took Rachel by surprise. She had expected them to be living quite happily as Mr and Mrs Lawson with all their children.

"So you don't know where she is?" Rachel asked intrigued by her sister's latest disappearing act.

"No. She left me one day. I woke up and she was gone, abandoned her children again. Just like Philip" he had so many emotions running through his head by now, but he didn't want to talk about it. "So how has your life been Miss Mason?"

"Oh nothing exciting" she was avoiding the subject of the girls or her short marriage and divorce.

"Oh I'm sure their have been plenty exciting things" Eddie countered.

"Not really" she said with a chuckle to mask what she was really thinking. No matter what she did or tried Eddie could always see straight through her, like a pane of clear glass. He knew she didn't want to talk about it and he respected that but he didn't know why she didn't want to talk about it, yet.

"We should have a proper catch up sometime Rach" Eddie offered.

"Yeah we should" Rachel smiled.

"How about tonight, in the pub?" he asked.

"Ok I'll see you then" she said followed by the sound of the bell for second lesson.

"Guess I've got to go, year 10s. What a good first lesson back eh?" he chuckled "I'll see you later then" and with that he left.

Once the door had shut behind him, her face fell into her hands, 'Oh god' Rachel thought 'How would she be able to deal with this?' She had no idea how she would be able to deal with what was going to happen. What if he ever found out about the girls about her marriage about everything that had happened in the time that he had been gone. What if?

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**So there it is Chapter 2 up. Please Review, Favorite and Follow. Tell me what you think, good or bad. I would appreciate they feedback. Also if you have any ideas for the story please PM me.**


	3. Meeting the kids

**Here is Chapter 3, all I can say is ENJOY!**

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**What if? Chapter 3**

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Eddie entered his first class back at Waterloo Road. He was teaching year 10s. Lovely. He strode into the class with a pleasant smile spread across his face. He placed his things on his desk and then spoke.

"Hello class; I am Mr Lawson and I'm your new maths teacher and the new deputy head of the school" he said followed by hellos and whatevers from the class in front of him. "well lets get started, raise your hand when I say your name, Ok" he continued "Lets see, Aimee Adams".

"Yes sir" a girl from the back of the class said, with a raised hand.

"Jessica Brownsley"

"Yes sir" another said in the same manner.

"Izzy Charles"

"Yes sir" she said with a slight edge to her voice. He recognized that name from somewhere. Donte and Chlo Charles had a daughter called Izzy, maybe its her.

"Izzy. Your mum and dad did they come here? Donte and Chlo?"

"Yeah, mum works here now. In french".

"Ok let's continue" he continued through the register before he came to a familiar name catching his attention.

"Emma Mason"

"Em, sir" a girl with long auburn hair said from the back of the class.

"What?"

"My name sir, it's not Emma, it's a rubbish name. It's Em" she said annoyance obvious in the words she said.

"Ok, Jasmine Mason"

"My name is Jaz, good can't you get anyone's name right" a girl identical to the previous girl.

"Enough of that cheek".

"But sir I wasn't being cheeky I was saying my name"

"Quiet or you'll end up in the cooler"

"That's not fair sir, ya pickin' on me" she shouted.

Eddie stood from his desk and walked over to the girl slouching into her chair.

"It's less than ten minutes into the lesson and you are already on your way to the cooler, not a good start. Go now" he shouted, pointing towards the door.

She stood from her seat angrily grabbing her bag and storming out the room and down the corridor.

"Sir that's so not fair she didn't do anything, your just a crap teacher" the other Mason argued.

"Do you want to join your sister in the cooler? No, then be quiet" Eddie retorted"It's better than being here" she said in a snide voice before walking out herself making sure to slam the door behind her, loudly.

Eddie sighed, why did he have to deal with this first lesson back? "Class sit in silence, I'll be back" He said before walking out in pursuit of the Mason girl. "Em, Emma Mason back to class now!"

"No" she shouted walking faster. "Why are ya following me? I'm going to the cooler just like told me to" She opened the door at the end of the long corridor and rounded the corner, still shouting at the teacher, waking straight into none other than Miss Mason, her mother.

"Mum" she said both embarrassed and worried about what she had been found doing.

"What on earth are you doing Em?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"Ah Rachel this one just walked out of my class after I sent her sister to the cooler" Eddie said angrily, after finally catching up.

Rachel was now even more shocked "Why is Jaz in the cooler?"

"Talking back, awful attitude, must I go on?"

"Mum, he were pickin' on her coz she said her name was Jaz not Jasmine".

'Mum?' Eddie thought. Then he remembered their last name, Mason. Of course. Of course.

"Well I am sure Mr Lawson had a reason to send her to the cooler. Now you go to the cooler..." Rachel started as Em began to walk away "Em" she stopped.

"What?"

"Apologize to Mr Lawson" Rachel said sternly.

"NO".

"Now Em" She said keeping her calm. Em said nothing staring at the floor. "Em don't make me say it again"

Em looked up annoyance plastered across her fourteen year old face. Em may already hate Mr Lawson and really didn't want to apologize anyway she hadn't done anything wrong. But she wasn't stupid, arguing with her mother was futile, she had to admit defeat. "Sorry sir" she said through gritted teeth. She turned to her mother. "Can I go now?"

"Now go to the cooler. I want you and Jaz in my office at the start of break" Rachel said sternly.

After Em had left Rachel began to speak.

"Eddie I am sorry about those two. They're usually fine but lately I just don't know what's up with them they've been acting out and it's driving me crazy" Rachel apologized.

Eddie was still confused though "You have kids?" was all he could manage.

"Yes" was her simple answer.

"Year 10s?"

"Yeah nearly fifteen, April the 10th" Rachel answered.

"So your married?"

"Oh"

"Were you married?"

"For a short time yes, a long time ago"

"So they see their dad, do they know him?"

"My ex-husband wasn't their father" with everything she said he was slowly piecing everything together and Rachel was getting worried, really worried.

"Rachel. Who is their father?"

Eddie was getting close to the truth and she didn't like it. She couldn't deal with it. Oh this was going to be a long and difficult conversation. For the both of them. Especially Rachel.

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**That is Chapter 3 for you. Hope you enjoyed it. Follow, Favorite and Review this story. Tell me what you think.**


	4. Another day at Waterloo Road

**Here is another chapter of What if? Sorry it took so long to update but from now on I'm going to try to update once a week. This is a longer chapter than the others so it took longer to write. Enjoy.**

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**What if? Chapter 4**

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"Their father is a man that I'd rather not talk about, he's nobody" she shrugged off.

"Rach..." he began angrily.

"Ok fine, his name is Christopher Meed, I met him after you left" she snapped, she lied, it's not like anyone would remember him. Anyway it's hardly like she could tell him the truth. It's too late for that now, fifteen years too late in fact.

She could see his face fall "Oh" suddenly she saw a flash of anger in his eyes "moved on so quickly? Guess it's not hard to forget me, us. I'm sure you had lots of fun with your man friend. When did you meet him?"

Rachel didn't like what this had turned into but she couldn't stop it she had to finish what she had started.

"A few weeks"

"Well at least I know we meant nothing to you" he shouted.

"Eddie please, quieten down" Rachel hushed strictly, although not phasing Eddie with her attempt at intimidation.

He calmed down, slightly "Fine, I'll see ya later" he said, voice still teething with anger, before trudging back down the corridor to his class, with his fists forced into his pockets.

She knew she was done for 'Why oh why did I say that?" she thought to herself. She's just made a mess of everything. Why does she have to be such an idiot.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Steph barging through the doors in a panicked state.

"Rachel we have a problem, Dan's gone AWOL" that put Rachel in an almost mental fretting state, nothing good ever came from those words. 'What now?' she thought to herself whilst following Steph through the corridors.

At the start of break Rachel had retreated back to her office for some peace and quiet. She had just got around to starting the piles of paperwork covering her desk when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes" she said distracted. Vivienne her PA and secretary entered the room.

"Your daughters are outside" she said leaning against the white wooden frame of the door.

"Thank you. Bring them in" Vivienne stood in the doorway gesturing for the girls to enter the office then went back outside and shut the door.

"What am I going to do with you girls?" Rachel asked rhetorically. "I am very disappointed at this morning's display and the both of you" despite what their, obviously angered, mother was saying mischievously pair still smirked. "Girls this is not funny so you can wipe those silly grins off of your faces" Rachel said sternly. Rachel stood from her seat and walked around her desk and perched on the front, folding her arms. "Why?" she continued simply, knowing both girls knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Mr Lawson's a crap teacher" Em said.

"That is enough language and I know for a fact Mr Lawson is a very good teacher" Rachel defended.

"How would you know? You said you didn't know him" Jaz argued.

"It turns out I do know him. I used to work with him; here actually"

"But we've never met him"

"That is because I worked with him before you were born" Rachel said with a smile.

"Mum you didn't go out with him did you?" Em asked, both girls with a look of disgust on their faces. They just couldn't imagine their mother actually dating someone.

"That is none of your business" Rachel said with blushing red cheeks, totally embarrassed.

The twins burst out in laughter "Aw mum" Em said sympathetically "Bad break-up?" she continued sarcastically, trying hard not to laugh but failing terribly laughing with her sister.

"Not funny" Rachel said "Now..." she began just as Eddie knocked on, then opened, the door to the office. Rachel looked up to see Eddie standing there and wanted to get the girls out before they said or did anything else to embarrass her. "...We'll talk later girls, go for the rest of break" she said followed by fits of giggles coming from Em and Jaz when they saw Eddie standing at the door as they left the room.

"What was that about?" He asked confused, but a lot calmer than she had expected.

"Eddie..." Rachel started cautiously.

"I'm sorry Rach. I know I over-reacted..." Eddie cut-in.

"No you didn't".

"Yes I did, but can we just be friends again?" he asked with one of his sloppy grins that just made her heart melt.

She smiled. "I'd like that" she answered. "Also I am so sorry again for my girls behavior".

"It's fine" he grinned "Their nearly fifteen, what do you expect?" he chuckled.

"I guess" she agreed.

"So are we still on for the pub later?" Eddie asked with his hands stuffed into his pockets casually.

"Yeah but now I have a very important meeting to get to" Rachel said, standing up from her desk and ordering some paper together.

"I'll see you later" Eddie said before walking out of the office. Rachel quickly sat down in her chair again smiling, she didn't have a meeting. She just needed some time to think.

Just then Chlo Grainger walked into her office, now thirty-three and now having worked at Waterloo Road for close to eleven years. She had two daughters, just like Rachel, Izzy who was fifteen and Frannie who was twelve. Unfortunately she and Donte had divorced six years prior.

"Rachel, it's Daniel he's taken a joy ride in Tom's car"

"What?" Rachel asked frantically "Not again" she said before rushing after Chlo to the car park.

Finally it had reached the end of another day at Waterloo Road Comp. Pupils made their way home whilst teachers made their way to the pub. As Rachel walked out of the front of the school she saw her daughters walking up to the entrance to the gate, so she shouted them over.

"Girls I am going out tonight but I will be back later" she told the pair once they had walked over.

"OK mum" Em said. "Are you going out with Mr Lawson?" she giggled.

"With all the teachers" Rachel answered.

"But you never go out" Jaz stated.

"I know but it's to welcome Mr Lawson back to the school".

"Yeah, whatever you say mum" the pair burst out into giggles and ran to catch up with their friends.

About five minutes later she arrived at the Castle Inn Pub where she could already see most of her staff.

As she walked into she was met with the smell of Alcohol, she wasn't used to it as she didn't really go out much. Actually she never went out, unless with the girls. Walking over to Eddie she was met with may odd looks, well she had expected it. What would she expect when she hadn't been to the pub in nearly four years.

"Hi" Eddie said as Rachel stood next to him at the bar "Drink?" he asked.

"Water"

Eddie looked almost disappointed "Come on Rachel, live a little" Eddie joked.

"Red wine then" she smiled. Once she had got her drink the pair walked over to find somewhere to sit away from the others. Around a corner they found a little nook seat and sat.

"So how have you been?" Eddie asked taking a gulp of his beer.

"You already asked me that" Rachel said.

"But you didn't answer my question" he smirked.

"Yes I did" she defended.

"Not really"

"Well what do you want to know?" she said with a grin.

"I want to know how Waterloo Road has been without me for fifteen years" He smirked.

"I can see your still the same old modest Eddie I remember" she laughed.

"The one and only" he laughed too.

Now eight-thirty both had had a good insight into each others lives, Rachel had told him about how she left for six months after getting married and Max Tyler and the girls. Eddie had told her about working in Manchester and the kids and Melissa being her usual self. The pair had both drank more than their fair share and decided it was time to go home.

Together they wandered outside and stood, choosing to leave their cars until the morning they tried to get a taxi. Rachel looked at Eddie and smiled, she loved being able to see him again and be friends with him. She loved him, however much she wanted to deny it, she truly did. He looked at her and smiled when she saw her beautiful face. He loved her too but didn't want to ruin the friendship between them. If being just friends was what it took to stay with her then that is what he would have to do.

They both saw the other and looked into each other's eyes and they couldn't hold it any longer. Leaning in they kissed passionately. Nothing else in the world mattered to them in that one moment, that one magical moment, all that mattered was each other and the feelings they felt for one another and after fifteen yeas apart those feelings built up and up and now they could just let go. They were so wrapped up in each other they didn't even realize Janeece Bryant, Steph Haydock and Matt Wilding looking out the window watching them.

After a few minutes they separated at the sound of the taxi honking its horn to get their attention. The two jumped apart and awkwardness filled the air. Rachel looked up into Eddie's eyes.

"I've got to go"she said before jumping into the taxi and driving away before Eddie had a chance to do anything. He kicked the wall in frustration, what was he going to do now?

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**So that was Chapter 4. I hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter I'm going to bring in some new characters both of my own and the later series. Please Favorite Follow and Review this Chapter. Tell me what you think, good, bad, the best thing you've ever read. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up next week.**


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